Scorch Supernova (Brenden Fraser) is the blue alien equivalent of Metro Man or Captain Hammer, pulling off daring deeds of heroics to the adoration of his entire planet. Caught up in the showmanship and results of his life-threatening missions, though, he seems to forget about the people behind the scenes who help make everything he does possible. Most notable is his “little” brother, Gary (Rob Corddry) who works in mission control.

Feeling under-appreciated, Gary quits (or is he fired?) just as Scorch gets ready to respond to a distress call coming from The Dark Planet, which from the title of the movie, I’m sure you can guess is Earth. No aliens who have tried to make contact with The Dark Planet have ever been heard from again, and without Gary there to help him out, when things go wrong it looks like Scorch may be the latest victim. It’s up to Gary to rescue his brother, and perhaps even save the universe in the process, in this movie that’s ultimately about family.

In a world dominated by amazing the quality of Pixar, Rainmaker Studio’s first feature film feels a little dated due to the more simplistic graphics, and thanks to being stuck in development for an overly long period of time, other similar stories – such as Planet 51 – have graced the screen since Escape‘s conception in 2006. A top-notch cast and some fun trailers should catch your attention though.

In addition to Fraser and Corddry, the movie also features the voice talent of Sarah Jessica Parker, Sofia Vergara, Jessica Alba, Ricky Gervais, Craig Robinson, Jane Lynch, George Lopez, and William Shatner.

This is a good old fashioned kids movie. It’s not overly concerned with including clever content for the parents, or being sophisticated enough to reach out beyond its original audience. That’s not to say there aren’t some fun sci-fi references sprinkled here and there, or that it is juvenile. It’s simply a kids’ movie for kids. Wholesome, positive, and mostly enjoyable.

At the end of the day, it probably won’t win a bunch of awards, but Escape from Planet Earth is a solid family film with some clever moments – Gervais as the computer James Bing (ok, yes, there seems to be a lot of product placement for a kids’ movie) is perfect and I appreciated the Star Trek references sprinkled throughout.